Italy’s new far-right government on Sunday allowed minors and other migrants with health problems to disembark the SOS Humanity ship but refused to allow 35 adult men to disembark, the NGO said.
Three underage girls and a baby were the first to disembark from Humanity 1 at dawn, followed by underage boys and adult men with medical problems, SOS Humanity spokeswoman Petra Krischok told AFP.
“Thirty-five grown men are still on board. For now, we’ll stay here and wait.” “Survivors are extremely depressed. One person just collapsed,” she added.
A total of 144 people walked out of Humanity 1, a German-flagged ship, in the port of Catania.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi had said on Saturday that the government would not back down from its humanitarian obligations, but that those who were not “qualified” should be looked after by the ship’s flag state.
Three other boats with a total of 900 migrants have asked for permission to dock: the Rise Above of the NGO Mission Lifetime, also flying the German flag, as well as the Ocean Viking of SOS Méditerranée and the Geo Barents of Médecins sans Frontières, registered them in Norway.
Italy’s new far-right government, which was sworn in last month, has pledged to crack down on migrants en route to Europe from North Africa.
Opposition MP Aboubakar Soumahoro, who was present at the landing, criticized the “selection of shipwrecked migrants” which he said violated international law.
For him, the government treats “the shipwrecked, already exhausted by cold, fatigue, trauma and torture, as objects”.
“If the remaining castaways are rejected, we will challenge this decision in all appropriate forums,” he said on Twitter.
Norway’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it “takes no responsibility” for people rescued by private Norwegian-flagged vessels in the Mediterranean.
Germany, in a diplomatic “note” addressed to Italy, insisted that the charities had “made an important contribution to saving lives” and asked Rome to “help them as soon as possible”.